Once admittedly homophobic, Giants’ Jeremy Affeldt has grown to embrace The City’s diversity

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In this Feb. 24, 2011, file photo, San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt tosses a ball during spring training baseball facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. When he joined the San Francisco Giants five years ago, Affeldt became determined to get rid of his negative feelings toward the gay population.

When Jeremy Affeldt came to the Bay Area as an opposing player, he refused to leave his hotel room aside from going to and from the ballpark. He was admittedly homophobic.

When he joined the Giants five years ago, Affeldt became determined to get rid of his negative feelings toward the gay population. The transformation took time and a change of heart, given what he calls his “sheltered” upbringing in Eastern Washington. Now, Affeldt is more than comfortable saying he was wrong to judge a community based solely on sexual orientation.

The ex-military brat said Monday he was so uncomfortable in San Francisco that he would seclude himself.

“I didn’t leave my hotel room when we came to play the Giants or A’s. I didn’t want to go out or see anyone,” he said. “There was a profession of being wrong. I’ve come to that from a deep angle. I’ll probably get a lot of flak from the church for it, but I believe I’m right.”

Affeldt reveals these experiences in his recently released book, “To Stir a Movement: Life, Justice, and Major League Baseball.” In the book, he also acknowledges how he returned $500,000 to the Giants after a typo in the contract gave him an accidental bonus before the 2010 season.

“Integrity-wise, it wasn’t a hard decision for me,” Affeldt said.

He would make the same choice again — an easy one.

“For me, it was,” he said. “[My publicist, Kathy Jacobson] sent me an article from the U.K. and the title was, ‘The Most Honest Athlete in America.’ If that’s true, we have a really bad reputation as athletes. Because I wouldn’t say I’m the most honest athlete in America. I’m not saying I’m dishonest. I understand $500,000 isn’t $500 or $5, $500,000 is a lot of money.

“It was never mine in the first place. I didn’t take it and give it back. I just said no to the thing that legally was binding and said, ‘No, I can’t have it.’ It’s dirty money. Legally I might be able to have it, but it’s not what we negotiated. The reality is there might be a job at stake, someone might have lost their job over that.”

He begins his book and life story in Thailand, where in a split second Affeldt — about 10 at the time — had his arm grabbed by a man and pulled toward a building as he fought to get away only to have his dad catch up and help him get away.

Affeldt has become a strong supporter of efforts to stop sex trafficking, and believes that’s where he could have been headed that day. His father was stationed in Guam at the time, so they traveled regularly in Asia.

From his younger years, Affeldt shares his experiences growing up as a cocky, angry high school athlete to eventually finding his Christian spiritual life that guides him in all he does today as a professional athlete, husband and father of three young boys.

Affeldt also now has gay friends and colleagues.

“I’m going to look at a group of people who maybe don’t share the same views as I do morally but the reality is there is no difference, none,” he said. “They’re human beings, and I’m going to love on them just as God told me to love all human beings. I’m not going to sit there and worry about all that other garbage. It’s a matter of love your neighbor as yourself.”